Regional category, Page 284
Gov. Wolf says states — not president — should decide when to lift coronavirus restrictions
Gov. Tom Wolf said he believes it should be left to state governments — not the president — to decide when and how to loosen restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “We had the responsibility for addressing the needs that we all had, and that involved closing...
Signs of encouragement appear in windows across Western Pa.
It’s a sign of the times. People hunkered down in their homes waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to recede can’t help sending messages to the outside world. While many are dispatching to a broad audience via social media, others are taking a rather analog approach. Messages of support and encouragement...
Pennsylvania reports 60 more coronavirus deaths as total hits 584
Sixty more people across Pennsylvania died from the coronavirus, state health officials said Tuesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said 1,146 new cases of covid-19 were reported Monday, bringing the state’s running tally to 25,345. There were 1,366 new cases reported Monday and 1,178 on Sunday. The death toll now...
Missing Fayette County woman discovered safe, troopers say
A Fayette County woman missing since last week was found safe, according to Pennsylvania State Police in Uniontown. Karissa Nicola, 30, was reported missing after she didn’t return from a walk along East Main Street in New Salem on Friday, police said. Troopers said public tips aided authorities in locating...
Drive-in theaters face uncertainty as coronavirus continues to spread
Drive-in theaters appear tailor-made for social distancing: Expansive fields of grass let vehicles park more than six feet apart, providing families with a safe night out in relative isolation. Yet drive-ins are subject to the conditions facing most businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Local drive-ins have sat empty since Gov....
Carnegie Science Center offers resources for online classes
Now that the covid-19 crisis has forced Pennsylvania schools to turn to online instruction for the remainder of the academic year, Carnegie Science Center is offering to help educators. The resources being offered include educational activities, videos and lesson plans on Carnegie Science Center’s new Online Educator Resources page. The...
Giant Eagle to have one-way aisles to combat coronavirus
Be sure to follow the traffic patterns the next time you’re in Giant Eagle. In an effort to step up the company’s fight to slow the spread of coronavirus, the supermarket chain is implementing one-way aisles. One-way signs will be added to the floors of each aisle to direct shoppers...
Ohio cuts off liquor sales to out-of-state residents in Pennsylvania border counties
Ohio is cutting off liquor sales to out-of-state residents in counties bordering Pennsylvania, a response to “repeated instances” of Pennsylvanians going to Ohio solely to buy liquor, Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Any other time, we’d love to have visitors from PA, but right now this creates an unacceptable public health...
Pennsylvania launches coronavirus job hiring portal
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry launched a job portal Monday, focusing on life-sustaining businesses that are hiring during the covid-19 pandemic. “Many life-sustaining businesses across Pennsylvania are hiring, and this new portal will help connect them with people looking for a job,” said Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry...
Pennsylvania State Police training academy closed after staffer positive for covid-19
The Pennsylvania State Police training academy in Hershey will be closed for at least two weeks because a staff member tested positive for covid-19, state police said. The closure impacts 100 cadets, who will continue online instruction from home. Classes for the cadet class had been the only activities at...
Procession honoring acting Aliquippa police chief stretches 2 milesVideo
A long line of police cruisers and emergency vehicles with sirens blaring escorted a hearse Monday carrying the body of Aliquippa’s acting police Chief Rob Sealock back home to Aliquippa. Sealock, 49, had been in UPMC Presbyterian hospital since March 26 after suffering a medical emergency while on duty and...
Man in Montgomery County prison is 1st Pa. inmate to die of coronavirus complications
A Montgomery County inmate is the first in the Pennsylvania prison system to die from complications related to covid-19, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced Monday. The inmate wasn’t identified by name. He was a 67-year-old black man serving a life sentence for a Philadelphia County first-degree murder conviction, officials...
Wolf: ‘New normal’ will take time, 3 phases of response
While the adherence to the state’s stay-at-home orders is “bending the curve and diminishing the surge” of new cases, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday he was not ready to predict when he will lift the sanctions against business activity that are crushing the economy. “There is no hard, fast metric...
Food Bank to hold 1st drive-up distribution in Butler
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is holding its first drive-up emergency food distribution event in Butler. Food will distributed Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Butler’s Alameda Park. The event is part of the Food Bank’s new drive-up distribution model to reduce the spread of covid-19. Each...
Ambridge police chief who died of coronavirus was retired Pittsburgh officerVideo
Ambridge police Chief Mark J. Romutis was lauded as “the people’s policeman” in a statement on the borough’s Facebook page. But he was more than that, former colleague Robert Swartzwelder said Monday. Romutis was “just an all-around wonderful guy,” said Swartzwelder, a Pittsburgh officer who is president of the Fraternal...
AHN, UPMC spearhead plasma program that could treat coronavirus
Plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus could be a tool in helping critically ill patients recover from the virus, and the region’s two largest health care providers are working together to help facilitate those transfusions. Vitalant, previously the Central Blood Bank, is working with UPMC and Allegheny...
Pennsylvania’s online liquor sales booming despite tricky website
Patience is said to be a virtue — and it’s a necessary one for those using Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine and Good Spirits website to get their fill of libations. The state Liquor Control Board has randomized access to the site to control traffic and is filling an unspecified number of...
Pennsylvania reports 17 more coronavirus deaths as total cases top 24,000
Seventeen more people died from coronavirus in Pennsylvania, state health officials said Monday, and the total case count now tops 24,000. The death toll, which includes two new deaths in Allegheny County, stands at 524. Officials said one inmate from SCI-Phoenix in Montgomery County died. About 1,179 health care workers...
WVU dorm resident has coronavirus, others self-quarantineVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — An undisclosed number of residents at a West Virginia University dormitory complex have been ordered to self-quarantine after someone living there tested positive for the new coronavirus, the university said. The Monongalia County health department notified the university of the positive test Sunday. The individual has been...
OPEC production cut will not soon impact gas prices, analyst says
An OPEC deal to cut oil production will not have an immediate impact on gasoline prices, which have fallen for a seventh straight week as the covid-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders crush demand, according to an industry analyst. “Establishing a floor on ultra-low oil prices will hopefully keep U.S. oil...
Police searching for missing Fayette County woman
Pennsylvania State Police are seeking help to locate a Fayette County woman missing since Friday, WPXI reported. Karissa Nicola, 30, was reported missing after she didn’t return from a walk along East Main Street in New Salem, police said. Nicola has distinctive tattoos and piercings, police said. Anyone with information...
Ambridge interim Police Chief Mark Romutis dies
Ambridge interim Chief of Police Mark Romutis died Sunday evening. Romutis, who was admitted to Allegheny General Hospital, had tested positive for covid-19 late last month, the Beaver County Times reported. “Chief Mark Romutis was a very good and kind man,” Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier told the newspaper....
Wind advisory, warning issued for Pittsburgh region
High winds are expected to buffet the Pittsburgh region for much of the day Monday, a National Weather service meteorologist said Sunday. A wind advisory is scheduled to start at 6 a.m. Monday and will be in effect until 8 p.m, during which a cold front will move through the...
Health Department reports 13 more covid-19 deaths in Pennsylvania
Thirteen more people in Pennsylvania have died from covid-19, bringing the statewide death toll to 507, state health department officials said. The total coronavirus case count is 22,833, according to data provided by the health department on Sunday. “Now more than ever, as we continue to see covid-19 cases and...
Trib launches ‘Thank You to the Heroes’ campaign
The coronavirus crisis has produced many heroes in our region, some well known and some unsung. In an effort to tell the stories of as many of these heroes as possible, Trib Total Media is launching a Thank You to the Heroes campaign. It’s an opportunity for readers to introduce...
